Molded trimming



Oct. 19, 1937( H. w. BUHLER l 2,096,606

MoLDED TRIMMING Filed Oct. 9, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented ot.19,1937 l l l 2,096,606

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MOLDED 'ramrMING Henry W. Buhler, Gloucester, Mass.

Application October 9, 1935, Serial No. 44,245

6 Claims. (Cl. 117-345) This invention pertains to molded trimming example laterally condensed ribbons of crepe and to a method of making the same, the present paper, in such a way as to form a coherent stufler invention constituting an improvement upon that structure of f substantially uniform cross section; disclosed in my' Patent No. 1,820,935, dated Seppossessing the requisite flexibility for the intended tember 1, 1931. In said patent I disclosed a novel purpose; and which may be made rapidly and 5 strand or strip structure suitable for various purat low cost. As a further development, the core poses, for example, to constitute a ller or stuifer strand may be omitted entirely, the stuffer confor an encasing entubulature, thereby to provide sisting of strands disposed in helical windings,

a flexible trimming of the kind extensively used with or without a cementitious binder.

10 in the manufacture of vehicle bodies. Thus, I may employ a single core element, for 10 As pointed out more fully in said patent, it is example, a ribbon crumpled, folded, or plaited to an essential requisite that such filler or stuiler form a compact but preferably yielding plastic strand be of a reliably constant cross-sectional vand bulky strand characterized by uniformity of shape so that it may be encased in the enclosing mass per unit of length, and about this core eleentubulature to form a uniform trimming; it ment wrap another strand or strands which may, must have suicient flexibility to bend sharply if desired, be of the same character as the core in the direction of its width without breaking strand, the wrapping strand or strands preferor substantially buckling; it must be capable of ably being disposed to forma steep pitched open oering substantial resistance to deformation by helix or helices,-thereafter subjecting the com- 'crushing or indenting pressure; and preferably. posite structure to the action of pressure rolls, 20 .should be of such'texture as to permit it to be dies, or the like, either with or without heat, as nailed in place by the use of ordinary nails or preferred, thereby to compact the material and tacks. I at the same time, to reduce it tothe desired cross In the patent referred to I have recommended section, for example, half round. Preferably, at

a construction in which a core comprising a l some stage in the process a flexible and elastic 25 bundle of substantially straight, parallel elongate coating, or impregnant of an adhesive, cementelements is fasciated by a helical wrapping or tious'and/or waterproof character is applied to wrappings consisting,- for example, of cords, the constituent strandsl or to the composite structhreads, yarns or filaments or any of the usual ture as a unit, such coating or impregnant astextile bers, or fine, metallic wires. The core is sisting in preserving the imposed shape and in 30y disclosed as predominantly composed of hard holding the constituent elements in proper associpaper yarns, in some suggested instances association. If more than one wrapping strand is used, ated with a comparatively small number of reit is preferred todispose the said wrappings in inforcing wire strands and Soft compressible pairs, one of each pair being wound left-hand strands designed to iill the interstices between the and the other right-hand, thereby to provide a 35 hard paper strands. balanced structure substantially devoid of tend- While the structure disclosed in said patent is ency to twist. desirable for many purposes, its recommended Under some circumstances, as above Suggested, mode of construction, wherein a plurality of preit may be preferred to dispense with Ithe separate formed strands are employed in the core, is excore element,-forming the filler or stuer solely 40 pensive and the urgent `demand of automobile from a pair or pairs of strands, each disposed to manufacturers for material at lower cost makes form a helix, but without imparting substantial it ldimcult to produce the trimming disclosed in twist to'the individual paper ribbons before assaid patent at a reasonable prot. sociating them.

With the object of providing a flexible trim- In either case the wrapping'operation is pref- 45 ming which may be made more rapidly and erably carried out by causing coils of untwisted cheaply than that of my aforesaid patent, but ribbon of substantially uniform width to revolve which at the same time, for some uses, at least, about an axis in such a way that the ribbons possesses to a sufllcient degree the other charac- (after rst being laterally condensed to form teristics desirable in such a trimming, I have bulky, initially 'untwisted Strands) are laid in 50 devised the present improvement. In accordhelices about such axis as the associated strands ance with a preferred procedure, it is possible to are drawn oif in an axial direction by or toward obtain the desired results by directly associating the shaping and compressing rolls o r dies.

a single flexible or plastic core strand of appro- By the employment of. ribbons which are of priate bulk with one or more ilexible strands, for substantially uniform width; or at least uniform 55 mass per unit of length, it is possible rapidly and cheaply to form a stuifer structure which is of the desired uniform cross section throughout and thus ideal for use as a filler for an encasing entubulature. By the term ribbon I intend to include flexible bands or strips of any desired but substantially uniform width such, for example, as may conveniently be prepared by cutting up sheet material. However, I do not coni-lne myself to the use of ribbon so made, the particular method employed in preparing the ribbons being substantially immaterial to the present invention. While I have found creped kraft paper desirable for the purpose, I do not limit myself thereto nor to paper of any specific kind or character, since I contemplate the use of flexible ribbons or equivalent strips or bands made from any appropriate material. Among such materials there may be mentioned, by way of example, but without limitation, ribbons or strips of unspun textile fiber felted or otherwise joined together to form a coherent structure with or without the inclusion of a cementitious binder; ribbons of unspun sheeted cellulose ber such as may be prepared from wood pulp,-i`or instance the material known as cellulose wadding; ribbons of thin sheeted regenerated cellulose or of any of the synthetic resins, or the like; ribbons made by uniting, as by cohesion or adhesion, parallel strands, threads, filaments or the like of any kind or character; ribbons of textile fabric, for example, woven, braided, or knitted material; as well as ribbons made of thin metal or metal foil, or combinations of any such materials.

While the present invention is not primarily concerned with the external covering or entubulature, it is to be understood that said entubulature may be of any desired material, for example, metal, textile fabric; molded plastic; condensate resin or the like, and may be of any desired crosssectional shape and wall thickness, it being character'istic of the stuifer or filler herein disclosed that it provides an inclusion indierently applicable to any kind of channel relied upon toprovide the external surface of the molding or trim-A In the accompanying drawings wherein certain desirable embodiments of the invention have been disclosed by way of example,-

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation, partly in section, illustrating one mode of making a stuffer by the use of two strands Wrapped about a single core strand;

Fig. 2 is a section, to larger scale, on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section, to larger scale, on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a composite View illustrating various other crosssections to which lthe stuffer may be reduced;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view, to larger scale, illustrating the stuffer produced according to the method disclosed in Fig. 1, but before its cross-sectional shape has been changed:

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating Aa method of making a stuffer in which two pairs of ribbons are wrapped-about `a. third or core strand;

Fig. 7 is a section to larger scale on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6; l

Fig. 8 is a view generally similar to Fig. 6 but illustrating `another method by which two pairs of strands are associated with a core strand;

Fig. 9 is a view illustrating a mode of associating a pair of strands about a plastic core;

Fig. 10 is a section to larger scale on the line III-I of Fig. 9; l

Fig. 11 is a transverse section on line II-II of Fig. 9 showing the stuier after it has been deformed;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view illustrating the stuffer material resulting from the method of Fig. 9;

Fig. 13 is a transverse section, showing a stuffer similar to that of Fig. 12, but of different shape; and

Fig. 14 is a plan view, partly brokenaway, showing a completed molding with the improved stuffer forming a constituent element thereof.

While the core and wrapping strands may doubtless be made of other materials and by other methods than those herein specifically suggested, it is preferred to" employ strands consisting of crumpled, plaited, folded, or otherwise laterally condensed ribbons of the selected material, for instance crepe paper.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. 1, which illustrates the use of strands formed from laterally condensed paper ribbons,-a spool I or other suitable source of supply carries a ribbon 2 of any desired width and of any of the materials above suggested as suitable for the purpose. This ribbon may, for example, be a strip of creped paper of the order of three inches wide and the spool may be provided with any suitable tension means, not shown, to prevent the ribbon from unrolling too freelyfrom the spool. The ribbon is preferably drawn 01T past a reservoir 3 which delivers a treating medium, for example, adhesive, cement, plasticizer, tumefying agent, or

a waterproofing compound to the ribbon over whose surface such medium may be spread as evenly as desired by any of the usual devices (not shown) commonly employed for such purposes. Preferably the ribbon is passed through a trumpet guide 4 or equivalent device whereby it is laterally condensed, but not intentionally twisted, to form a strand which is plastic, that is to say, readily deformable under compression, and of a width less than that of the original ribbon, but of substantially uniform mass per unit of length. This strand 5 is drawn forwardly through and along the axis of a winding head which may be of any of the kinds familiar to manufacturers of insulated wire and some kinds of rope, such head having oppositely revolving carriers, each usually supporting a plurality of spools, and so actuated that the strands from the several spools are all gathered together at a common wrapping point. For convenience in illustration, only one spool of each carrier is shown in Fig. 1. 'I'he spools 6 and 1 carry the ribbons 8 and 9 respectively which pass through the trumpet guides I0 and II where the ribbons are condensed to form the initially untwisted strands I2 and I3 which, by the rotation of the wrapping head, are wound about the condensed core strand 5to form the helices I4 and I5. Preferably these helices are of such steep pitchthat their adjacent turns do not overlap. The material is now subjected, if desired, to a sprayof a suitable fluid medium, for example adhesive, from a nozzle I6. The material may now be passed through suitable pressure applying means, such as the rolls I1, I8, which compact the constituent elements and which may reduce the composite material to a non-circular shape as indicated at I9 (Fig. 3).

This cross-sectionalshape may, however, take almost any desired form, for example, assuggested at |98, I9b, I9, or I9d, respectively, of Fig. 4.

In Fig. the preferred character of the constituent strands 5, |2, and I3 is more clearly indicated, each consisting, as above described, of a ribbon crinkled, folded, crumpled, plaited or otherwise laterally condensed, whether regularly or irregularly, to form a strand which is initially substantially devoid of twist but of uniform mass per unit of length. While, as illustrated in Fig. 1, binding, waterproofing, wetting, softening or other treating medium is applied during the winding operation, it is contemplated that such 4tion to form open helices.

media may be omitted, if desired, since4 if ribbon of proper character be selected, the winding and compressing operations are found sucient to produce a coherent structure capable of retaining its shape, at least sufficiently longto permit its insertion into an encasing tubulature.

Fig. 6 illustrates a modification of the process illustratedin Fig. 1. In this figure an untwisted ribbon 20 is first condensed laterally to form the untwisted core strand 2| and about this are wrapped the strands 22 and 23 in the same direc- Then other strands 24 and 25 are wound in the opposite direction to form open helices, and the composite structure is passed between the pressure applying elements 26, 2'| to produce the structure indicated at v28.

Fig. 8 illustrates a further modification in which an untwisted ribbon 29 is laterally` con* densed to form the untwisted core strand 30. About the plastic or deformable core strand 'are then wrapped the strands 3| and 32 disposed to form open helices of opposite pitch. Adhesive or other fluid medium may then be applied as by means of a nozzle 33, and the other strands 34 and 35 are wrapped about the structure already formed in open helices of opposite pitch, -it being noted that the several helices, counted outwardly from the core, are alternatively of right and lefthand pitch.

Anothercoating or impregnating medium may now, if desired, be applied as by means of nozzle 36, after which the composite strand 31 passes between presser rolls 38 and 39 or equivalent means which compacts it and reduces it to the final desired cross-sectional shape, for example,- substantially half round, as shown in Fig. 11.

In Fig. 9 a further modification is disclosed. In this figure, the numeral 4| designates a hollow arbor or mandrel suitably supported, for example, in vertical position, and having its upper end in communication with a reservoir 42 containing any appropriate medium, for example, a plastic such as dough-like' uncured rubber,-synthetic rubber, a cellulose derivative, or compounds of adhesive binding materials with inert or fibrous fillers, etc. The reservoir 42 is representative of any container (heated if desired) for a plastic or fluid medium preferably of a nature such as to form a distinct core for the composite stuffer to be formed. Preferably, the material in the receptacle is kept under pressure so as to flow into and to be extruded from the mandrel The mandrel preferably tapers slightly toward its free end, and the walls of the mandrel are furnished with perforations 43 through which the.

uid treating medium may exude. The fluid medium thus extruded to the outer surface of the mandrel serves to lubrlcate the latter as well as to form a core for, or at least to coat or im- .rregnate the strand material as itis wound about the mandrel The numeral 44 designates a spool or-thelike forming an element of a rotary wrapping head, and this spool carries a coil of strand, or strandspool and the mandrel a trumpet guide 46 or equivalent device which revolves with the spool and through which the ribbon 45 passes on its way to the mandrel. In so passing through the trumpet guide the ribbon is laterally condensed to form a strand 41 which, as initially formed is substantially devoid of twist, but in which the material of the ribbon is crumpled, folded or plaited so as to form the bulky strand 41 which is of substantially less width than the width of the ribbon but which is of substantially uniform mass per unit of length. As the spool 44 is revolved about the axis of the mandrell this strand 46 is wrapped about the mandrel in the form of a close helix 48 and as the helix is formed, it is drawn off from the end of the mandrel,-the extruded plastic from the receptacle 42 forming a core C, the helix slipping off of the mandrel readily by reason of the film of fluid medium which is interposed between it and the surface of the mandreL-assisted by the tapering forni of the A`-mandrel. 'I'he helix thus formed with its plastic core (or lining of adhesive. or other material) is drawn oif axially and, as it moves along, a second helix is wound around it. For this purpose a second wrapping head is provided comprising the spool 49 which revolves bodily about the extended Aaxis of the mandrel and which 'carries a coil of strand or strand-forming material, for example the ribbon 50 which may be similar to the ribbon 45,- this wrapping head also preferably being provided with a trumpet guide 5| through which the ribbon passes and in which it is condensed to form a strand 52. If desired a nozzle 53 may be provided to deposit a fluid or plastic medium, such as adhesive, a plasticizer, a waterhelical wrappings of the strands 41 and 52. It is to be noted that in some cases, for example if the material supplied from receptacle 42 is not stiilly plastic, the inner helix may be hollow and merely lined with adhesive or the like.

The composite stuffer material thus produced is very flexible and requires a minimum of material in its construction. It is substantially bal anced, that-is to say, does not exhibit any pronounced tendency to twist in any one direction or the other; it is quite resistant to deformation .by compression oit-percussion; it may readily be nailed in place by the .use o f ordinary tacks or nails; it may be made very rapidly and by reason'of its uniform cross section is 4adapted uniformly to fill an outer casing or entubulature.

While as above specifically described, the core and wrapping strands are all of substantially the same character, it is within the scope of the invention to employ different materials for the, core and Wrapping strands,l or to use strands made in some other way than by laterally condensing a strip or ribbon, for example. braided vor twisted strands of cotton or other textile material,

y or combination of strands made in different ways.

ance with any of the above-described procedures, for example, such as that illustrated in Fig. 1,

is shown as having been introduced into this entubulature.

While certain desirable embodiments of the invention have been illustrated by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to these particular constructions or modes of procedure but it is to be interpreted as of broad scope and as limited only by the term of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Molded trimming having a stufler comprislng a strand of substantially uniform mass per unit of length disposed in a helix of predetermined hand about a flexible core of plastic material, and a second similar strand disposed in a helix of the same hand and coaxial with the first, and a plurality of strands disposed to form helices of the other hand disposed one within the other and about the first two helices.

2. Method of making molded trimming which comprises as steps providing an' even number of ribbons each of substantially uniform width, laterally condensing each ribbon to form an initially untwisted strand of substantially uniform mass per unit of length, winding each strand to form a helix whose adjacent turns are spaced apart, the several helices being coaxial, an equal number of the helices being of left-hand and right-hand pitch, respectively, treating the constituent elements at some stage in the process with a cementitious medium, and imparting to the resultant composite strand a predetermined substantially permanent cross-sectional shape.

3. Method of making molded trimming which comprises as steps preparing ribbons of substantially uniform mass per unit of length, laterally condensing said ribbons to form untwisted strands, disposing one of said strands to form a core, winding a second strand in the form of a helix about said core, winding a third strand to form a second helix embracing the first helix but of opposite pitch, applying force in such a way as to compact the constituent elements and reduce the resultant composite stuffer to a noncircular cross section, and encasing the stuffer in an entubulature.

4. Method of making molded trimming which comprises as steps preparing ribbons of substantially uniform mass per unit of length, laterally condensing said ribbons, without substantially twisting them, to form strands, winding one of said strands about a core of plastic material to form a helix, winding a second strand about the first helix, but with opposite pitch, treating the constituent elements with a binding medium, and reducing the resultant stuiTer to a non-circular cross section.

5. Method of making molded trimming which comprises as steps preparing ribbons of substantially uniform mass per unit of length, laterally condensing said ribbons, without substantially twisting them, to form strands, winding one'of said strands to form a helix While concomitantly intruding a fluent core-forming material into the interior ofthe helix, winding asecond strand to form a helix of opposite pitch about the first helix, Winding a second pair of strands to form coaxial helices embracing the first pair of helices,4

the helices of said second pair also being of opposite pitch respectively, treating the constituent ribbonsat some stage of the process with a uid medium, and shaping the resultant composite structure to a non-circular cross section.

6. Method of making molded trimming which comprises as steps preparing ribbons of substantially uniform mass per unit of length, laterally condensing said ribbons without substantially twisting them to form strands, extruding a plastic material to form a core, winding one of said strands to form a helix embracing'said core, winding a second strand to form a helix about the first helix, successively winding other pairs of ribbons to form helices coaxial with the first pair, successive helices counted from the axis out- .wardly being of opposite pitch, treating the con- HENRY W. BUHLER. 

